16 Tuesday Dec 2025
Posted in health, life, retirement, Uncategorized
10 Monday Jun 2024
Posted in business, food, garden, health, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
big girl pants, birthday, blessed, chocolate, flowers, food, friends, garden, happy, lunch, moments, offerings, party, table, time, treat, umbrella, weather, widow
what a delightful day…
yesterday we moved the table on the deck to the middle of the space and this morning I put on the tablecloth and runner that I picked up on Saturday…
then my housemate put the umbrella back in its hole and we opened it up…
I folded silverware into napkins and brought out pretty, but unmatched, plates to put around… glasses and mugs followed… everything was upside down so they wouldn’t get dirty…
found bowls, covers, and spoons for the two salads – ham and German potato, as well as the coleslaw…
crackers went onto a wooden tray and the salt and pepper shaker made it onto the table, alongside some lily of the valley flowers from under the deck…
chair covers and cushions went out and umbrellas went up…
friends arrived with other food offerings… there were fresh veggies and hummus, devilled eggs, fresh fruit, whipped cream, chocolate, and custard…
there were flowers for the birthday woman…
we gathered at the table and enjoyed everyone’s delicious offerings… of course there was our usual coffee and tea to go with the fruit, custard and whipped cream, topped with a piece of chocolate and a pistachio, lol…
the bubble machine came out and was on until bubbles started to land on plates… the weather was beautiful as the sun shone with a slight breeze every now and then… conversations were free flowing and stories made us laugh…
we took a group photo, as we always do when we gather for special times;-)…
as everyone began to leave the clouds filled the sky and the temperature went down, but no rain fell…
I had a relaxing time as I cleaned up, filled the dishwasher, put away the cushions, and got the table back into its original location…
read my book as the last of the bubbles flew around the deck…
02 Tuesday Apr 2024
Posted in family, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
Advent, big girl pants, blessed, chocolate, family, goodies, moments, Ottawa, purple, souvenirs, Technology, treats, widow
today a box of goodies arrived from the kids in Ottawa…
it was filled with treats from as far back as Advent and souvenirs from trips to Mexico, Paris, and Sicily… it included the last envelope from Happy Mail for Chocolate Lovers… and a stick with photos and documents from my former laptop…
what fun to open each item with its note explaining where it came from… now to figure out where each piece will go and start wearing some of them…
I am so spoiled…
happy birthday month to me;-)…
01 Friday Dec 2023
Posted in business, family, food, health, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
Advent, big girl pants, blessed, calendars, chocolate, family, grandson, memories, moments, nuts, Technology, treat, versions, widow
happy first day of Advent… it has always been a special time for me…
this year there are three different calendars for me…
the first is a digital version which comes via email every day with things to do or think about;-)… all focussed on chocolate, without any calories… this was the first one, which provides an opportunity to check items off over 25 days…
the second is on the wall in the living room and this year is filled with nuts and seeds and the odd bit of chocolate…
the third climbs the stairway… it is made up of twenty-four different sized boxes with items in them from the kids in Ottawa… last week a parcel arrived addressed to my grandson, who then filled each one… they look very cute on the stairs…
as I empty a box, I am breaking it down and stashing it at the top behind the last few… I don’t want to lose any of them…
every day is a treat;-)…
17 Saturday Jun 2023
Posted in business, family, food, life, moments, nature, retirement, Uncategorized, weather
Tags
Assiniboine Park, big girl pants, biomes, blessed, cacao trees, chocolate, dinosaur trees, family, flowers, food, gather, grown, happy, happy place, magical time, moments, nature, plants, quiet, The Leaf, waterfall, widow
Tuesday and Wednesday we spent hours at The Leaf in Assiniboine Park…
things have grown and been added since I was last there…
there was mist rising from the ground and there are now three cacao trees…
it was very exciting to see them in flower and with pods on one…
Tuesday we were there in the morning and came across some school classes and quite a few other visitors… we had a delicious lunch at Gather and went back into the biomes for a last look before heading home…
on Wednesday we went in the evening… I had hoped the lights would be on but they weren’t until after we left, lol… there were few others in the space and ample opportunities to sit quietly and reflect on the beauty of nature…
thanks to a very knowledgeable volunteer, we found the sugar cane and the dinosaur trees…
we did enjoy dessert at Gather before a quick walk through the Diversity Gardens… one treat was sitting by a fire in the Indigenous Peoples Garden…
looking forward to another visit in a few weeks… cheers;-)…
12 Monday Jun 2023
Posted in family, food, health, life, moments, retirement, technology, travel, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, chocolate, computers, daughter, dueling, family, fudge, garden, grandson, moments, Technology, time together, treats, widow, work
last night my daughter arrived from Ottawa… it was wonderful to see her in person…
the flight was early and my grandson picked her up at the airport and brought her home…
there were a number of thoughtful gifts which I will enjoy, including a delicious chocolate bar which reminds me of the amazing fudge that my dad used to make, a ceramic dragonfly, and the cutest little butterfly bowl which I will use to hold my pills…
I am looking forward to our time together over the next few weeks…
an evening in the garden ended with dueling computers… it was nice not to have to call her to discuss the piece of work we were doing, lol…
and then, an early night…
looking forward to many fun activities while she is here;-)…
14 Tuesday Feb 2023
Posted in food, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, BS buddies, chocolate, coffee, friends, moments, someone, Technology, time together, treat, Valentines, widow
had a great visit with my BS friends…
there were candy hearts, chocolates, nuts, and cards… oh yes, and coffee…
one of us is away and joined via FaceTime…
she is mixed in amongst the orchids, lol…
remember to let someone know you love them today and every day🥰…
25 Sunday Dec 2022
Posted in family, food, health, life, moments, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
banging, banging pots, big girl pants, blessed, chocolate, Christmas, Christmas Day, dinner, early start, family, food, friends, gifts, grandson, kids, moments, purple, reading, relaxing, special day, Technology, treats, tree, visits, widow
I wasn’t expecting to get up early, but apparently my body remembers previous Christmas mornings, lol… although it was 6:47 am when I woke up, for many years it was often around 4… and I would eventually start banging pots in the kitchen to encourage all of the sleepers to wake up…
around 7:30 I got up, made breakfast and then read for a while in the living room enjoying the tree lights…
there were matching pyjamas, calls, texts, visits and naps throughout the day… the naps may have had something to do with the 6:47 wake-up, lol…
spaced amongst all of that were relaxing dinner preparations… beautiful mashed potatoes, delicious stuffing and tasty gravy went perfectly with chicken, turnip, ham, and previously homemade cranberry sauce…
I was absolutely spoiled with a myriad of wonderful gifts…
a lovely day… amazingly blessed, as always…
18 Sunday Dec 2022
Posted in family, life, moments, Photography, retirement, technology, Uncategorized
Tags
big girl pants, blessed, chocolate, Christmas, decorations, family, gifts, Happy Mail for Chocolate Lovers, moments, paintbox, painting, plow, purple, shovelling, Technology, widow
had some fun this morning… after going out and shovelling the droppings from the city snow plows…
been planning to colour the letters for these chocolate ornaments that I received from Happy Mail for Chocolate Lovers…
finally got around to it… sadly there was no purple in the paintbox🤪…
I am pleased with how they came out… I used some of my gifts from last year in a slightly different way and enjoyed the time…
now they are on the tree…
30 Wednesday Nov 2022
Posted in business, family, food, health, life, moments, retirement, Uncategorized
Tags
Advent, advent calendar, big girl pants, blessed, chocolate, Christmas, family, food, memories, moments, purple, quick, ready, Technology, treat, widow
I received a box of individually wrapped pieces of chocolate in the mail to fill my Advent calendar…
was very happy and quick to pop one into each of the twenty four squares in the box… and there are two on the last day so that I can enjoy one on Christmas Day;-)…
now to wait for tomorrow, when I get to open the first one;-)…
herbiggirlpants 